Battle of Balanjar (652)

The Battle of Balanjar occurred in 652 AD when a Rashidun Arab army under Abd ar-Rahman ibn Rabiah attempted to capture the Khazar capital of Balanjar. The ensuing battle checked the northward advance of Islam and prevented them from making inroads into Russia.

Background
During the 640s, the Rashidun Caliphate conquered the Middle East and destroyed the mighty Sassanid Persian empire, leading to their armies reaching the Caucasus. There, they faced the steppe nomadic tribes, including the Khazars, who prepared to defend against their advance. The Arab armies captured the city of Derbent in 642 along the Caspian Sea and prepared to advance north on the Khazar capital of Balanjar, leading to a large battle ten years later.

Battle
An Arab army under Abd ar-Rahman ibn Rabiah was tasked with the capture of Balanjar with the goal of having it serve as a foothold for Muslim armies on the European side of the Caucasus mountains. The Khazars employed ballistae and catapult artillery to repel repeated Arab assaults, killing 4,000 Muslim troops and their commander; the surviving Arabs were forced to retreat across the mountains, ending their northward expansion for decades.